12. Azucarera Agrees To Acquire Puleva In 590 Million Deal

Azucarera SA, the largest Spanish sugar company, has agreed to a friendly takeover of milk producer Puleva SA, in a 590 million euro deal that would create the country's largest food company.

The boards of the two companies are scheduled to meet today to determine the terms of the takeover. Azucarera, created through the merger of the two largest Spanish sugar companies, and Puleva would have a combined market capitalization of 263 billion pesetas (1.58 billion euro) and sales of 360 billion pesetas.

The agreement comes after years of difficult corporate restructuring within the heavily government-regulated milk and sugar industries. Because sugar prices and production are closely con­trolled by the European Union, sugar com­panies can increase profit only through cost reductions or diversification.

To ensure that Spain's European Union quotas for sugar production don't fall into foreign hands, successive Spanish govern­ments have kept a tight hold on the publicly traded company. Generate Sucriere SA, a unit of French group Saint-Louis SA, cur­rently owns 21% of Azucarera, and analysts suggested that the merger with Puleva might be a defensive move aimed at pro­tecting the Spanish sugar group from the unwanted advances of the French.

Two years ago the government engineered the merger of Sociedad General Azucarera de Espana SA and Ebro Agricolas Cia de Alimentacion SA in an effort to create a na­tional champion big enough to be restruc­tured without losing control of the domestic market. Spain has trailed far behind other European countries in moves to streamline, both its milk and sugar industries.

Nonetheless, plans to restructure the sugar industry have met with stiff resis­tance from regional governments through­out Spain, which worry about the loss of jobs.

VOCABULARY:

SA - sociedad anonima - (исп.) акционерная компания

streamline – упростить, усовершенствовать, модернизировать

TRANSLATION NOTES:

To ensure that Spain's European Union quotas for sugar production don't fall into foreign hands… - Для того, чтобы европейская квота Испании … не перешла к другим странам (не попала в руки иностранных конкурентов) …

Перевод инфинитивных конструкций всегда требует контекстуального осмысления, т.к. имеет в английском языке множество функций (определение, дополнение, подлежащее, обстоятельство цели и т.д.) (См. часть Ш, раздел 3, §4)

the merger with Puleva might be…

Модальный глагол might выражает меньшую вероятность совершения действия и может переводиться как возможно, может быть. (См. часть Ш, раздел 3, §3, п.3.1)

13. Phelps Dodge Strikes Deal For Cyprus: $1.8 Billion

NEW YORK — Phelps Dodge Corp., the largest U.S. copper producer, said Thursday it had struck a friendly deal to buy Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. for $1.8 billion in cash and stock, ending a monthlong hostile takeover effort and killing a two-month-old merger pact between Cyprus and Asarco Inc.

Phelps Dodge sweetened its earlier hostile offer by about $65 million in cash. Based on recent stock prices for Phelps Dodge, the deal values Cyprus at about $19.80 a share.

The deal is expected to help Phelps Dodge compete more effectively in the volatile copper industry, which has been hurt by overcapacity and low prices.

Phelps Dodge, which is based in Phoenix, Arizona, and Cyprus, of Englewood, Colorado, entered friendly talks this week after Cyprus and Asarco amended their merger pact to allow each company to negotiate with other buyers. Cyprus and Asarco also delayed a shareholder vote on their deal as it became apparent other suitors had emerged.

"We are extremely pleased that we were able to reach a negotiated agree­ment with Cyprus Amax that is clearly in the interest of both companies," Douglas Yearley, the chief executive of Phelps Dodge, said.

Asarco, meanwhile, is the target of competing offers from Phelps Dodge and the Mexican mining and rail com­pany Grupo Mexico SA. Asarco, which is based in New York, did not comment on the Phelps-Cyprus deal but said it would “explore all alternatives available to the company." Phelps Dodge said it was still interested in buying Asarco.

Phelps Dodge will exchange 0.2203 of a share and $7.61 in cash for each of Cyprus's 90.7 million shares outstand­ing. Shares of Phelps Dodge rose 6.25 cents in late trading to $55.375, while Cyprus rose 25 cents to $19.50. Asarco stock slipped 43.75 cents to $27.

VOCABULARY:

overcapacity - избыточные производственные мощности

shares outstanding - выпущенные и находящиеся в обращении акции